Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

The carbon brush is a crucial piece to keep machines operating efficiently. However, “the little brush gets all the blame” is a statement commonly heard in the industry, but the blame is usually misdirected. One common problem is sparking at the brush face, which is usually the first symptom of trouble elsewhere.

American manufacturing has had great success in automating factories with robots and computers in the last 50 years, and computers are now eliminating many service jobs. This has caused a lot of speculation about how far artificial intelligence can be developed.

While not every firm sells 10 million devices in one weekend — or has to contend with the complex global supply chain and massive consumer pressure that comes with it — all organizations can learn from Apple’s supply chain pitfalls when managing and designing their own.

Industrial companies can take a page from the fast-moving world of software design and adopt a sprint-and-scrum approach. This iterative process relies on short cycles involving rapid design evolution and revision.

Manufacturing is an ever-changing industry, where manufacturers face new issues and concerns every year. Since this year is no exception, here are a few of the top concerns that manufacturers are grappling with.

One of the biggest challenges discrete manufacturing companies face is the increasing complexity of the product, whether this is due to technological change, market forces or the need to customize the product to meet demanding customer requirements.

With operations and partners worldwide, Hypertherm was experiencing significant growth, however their existing consumables product label printing system was not sufficiently accommodating this growth, and was presenting considerable risks to their operations in this lean manufacturing environment.

Specialty chemicals companies today face numerous uncertainties and constantly navigate internal and external business variables, but sophisticated software systems are available to drive supply chain excellence and to align people and processes.

How do you squeeze the most return out of your investment in innovation? It’s not always about new products — they don’t always produce bigger profits. Extensive R&D investment can significantly defer future profit.

EGHS debuted a girls-only section of Introduction to Engineering Design. Comprised of 17 students, it follows the same curriculum as the other four sections, however, the girls-only class chooses its own projects to tackle. Students also talk about STEM career possibilities for women.

The new Repair Regulations will drastically impact how manufacturing companies treat the amounts paid to purchase, produce, or improve tangible property, like plants, buildings, machines, and much more.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in October for the 17th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 65th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

For many companies, fleet management brings up one of those enduring business conundrums: whether or not to outsource. Should you hire an on-site fleet manager or use a company? There are good arguments on both sides, but no one solution fits all companies.

Not having a single picture of what's happening on the floor - or a seamless way to connect it with processes like quoting or material planning - is one of the main reasons that being production manager at a small- or medium-sized manufacturing company is so stressful.

It’s no surprise that recent years have brought a surge in demand for products made in the USA. The financial crisis of 2008, and subsequent recession, have caused Americans to rethink the importance and position of the U.S. economy.

Undoubtedly, maintaining material handling equipment requires an investment of time and money, however, the alternative cost for not maintaining equipment will be much higher since it will lead to the following issues: lost productivity, prematurely retiring equipment and the need to replace equipment.